Auxiliary lock for safes and vaults



Feb. 3, 1925- 1,525,354 I A. E. ANAKIN AUXILIARY LOCK FOR SAFES AND VAULTS Filed March 15, 1922 A 31-h T; l

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Patented Feb. 3, 1925.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUXILIARY LOOK FOR SAFES AND VAULTS.

Application filed March 15, 1922. Serial No. 544,050.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR ERNEST ANA- KIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Long Beach, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Auxiliary Looks for Safes and Vaults, of which the following is a specification.

V The present invention relates to an auxiliary locking device which is primarily intended'to be used upon safes and vaults, although it may be utilized in connection with any form of lock where an increased degree of safety and protection is desired.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide an auxiliary locking device which is normally inoperative and embodies novel features of construction whereby it is automatically moved into an operative position when any attempt is made to tamper with the mainlock, thereby rendering it impossible to open the vault or safe door even if the main lock has been broken or destroyed.

Further objects of the invention are to provide an auxiliary locking device of this character which can be readily mounted in position upon the usual vault or safe door, which may be made adjustable to fit different sizes of doors and which when moved into operative position will be most effective in preventing retraction of the locking bolts preparatory to opening the door, even though the usual combination lock mechanism or other main locking device with which the door was equipped may have been completely destroyed or removed.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists in certain constructions and combinations of the parts as will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the novel features thereof being pointed out in the appended claims.

For a full understanding of the invention reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying'drawings, in which Figure 1 is a rear elevation of the upper portion of a vault door which-has an auxiliary locking device constructed'in accordance with the invention applied thereto.

Figure'Q is an enlarged side elevation of the auxiliary locking device, parts being broken away and shown in section to illustrate more clearly the details of construction and the swinging looking member being shown by full lines in inoperative position and by dotted lines in operative position.

Figure 3 is a bottom plan View of the hinge joint between the swinging locking member and the supporting arm, showing the position of the detent which normally holds the locking arm in inoperative position.

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view on the line H of Figure 2.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and inclicated in all of the views of the-drawings by like reference characters.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate one of many possible concrete embodiments of the invention, the numeral 1 designates the door of a. vault or safe, and 2 the door frame which is firmly anchored or secured to the vault walls 3. The inner face of the door is formed with the usual inwardly projecting peripheral flange 4 which is provided with guide openings to receive the locking bolts 5. As is customary the several locking bolts are shown as rigidly connected by a bar 6 so that they are all movable as a unit into and out of operative position. As is indicated by Figure 1 of the drawings the ends of the locking bolts 5 are adapted to be projected into an operative engagement with the door frame 2 to lock the door in a closed position. The usual main locking mechanism 7, which is shown in a diagrammatical manner upon the drawings, is provided for controlling the movements of the locking bolts and moving them into and out of operative position under normal conditions. This main lock 7 may be of any conventional and well known type and may be either a permutation lock or a lock of any other suitable kind. This is all of the conventional and well known construction and no claim to novelty is based thereon.

The auxiliary locking device includes a clamp member 8 which is adapted to engage the flange 4 of the door. The clamp has. a U shaped formation so that it willstraddle the flange, and one of the arms of the clamp is provided with a pair of set screws 9 by means of which it is rigidly fastened in position, while the other arm ofthe clamp is provided with a stud 10 upon which an extensible arm mounted. This extensible arm includes a pair of telescoping tubes 11. and 12 which are adapted to be locked in an adjusted position by set screws 1 The inner tube 11 lit-ted upon the stud 1.0 and locked in position thereon in some suitable manner as by means of the set screws M. The outer tubular member 12 has the free end thereof bifurcated to receive the pivot end of the locking member 15, a hinge joint being provided at this point by means ot.

the pivot pin 16.

The locking member is provided at the hinge end thereof with a recess 17 which is adapted to be engaged by the nose of a spring detent 18 which is secured to the tube 12 in some suitable manner as by means or the fasteners 19. The locking member 15 is normally held in a raised position by ongagement oi the spring detent 18 with the recess 17. This position of the locking member is illustrated by full lines on Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing. and it will be noted that the locking member is then in an inclined position and spaced from the upright bar 6 of the locking bolts 5. The locking bolts can then be moved in and out in the usual manner and there is no interference by the auxiliary locking device with the usual movements of the bolts. However. if the detent is released from engagement with the recess 17 the locking member 15 will immediately drop by gravity into a horizontal posit-ion in alignment with the supporting arm upon which it is mounted. The nose of the locking member is beveled or shaped as indicated at 15% so that it will readily swing into a proper engagement with the upright bar 6 of the locking bolts.

The extensible arm upon which the look ing member is mounted is properly adjusted so that when the locking member is released and permitted to swing downwardly by gravity the free end thereof will engage the bar 6 and thereby render it impossible to move the bar inwardly and retract the locking bolts 5 into inoperative position. A suitable stop shoulder 20 may be provided upon the hing'e end of the locking member for limiting the downward swinging movement thereof and stopping it when it has reached a horizontal position in substantial alignment with the supporting .arm upon which it is mounted.

The detent 18 is provided with an eye 21 to which a wire or cable 22 is connected, said cable extending downwardly around the main lock 7, the arrangement being such that any effort to break or tamper with the main lock will result in pulling upon the cable and flexing the spring detent out-wardly to release the locking member 15, where upon the locking member 15 of the auxiliary device will fall by gravity into. operative position and hold the locking bolts of the safe or vault door in operative position, irrespective of the main lock.

The construction of the auxiliary locking device is such that it can be readily applied to a conventional safe or vault door by merely fitting the clamp 8 upon a suitable portion of the flange 4, and it is not necessary to drill any holes or mutilate the door in any manner. The extensible arm which is carried by the clamp can then be readily lengthened or shortened as may be necessary to support the locking member 15 in proper relation to the bar 6'. The detent normally holds the locking bar in a raised and inclined position so that it will instantly drop by gravity into an operative engagement with the bar 6 as soon as it is released. The construction is extremely simple and a positive and dependable action is obtained. One particular mechanical embodiment of the invention has been shown in detail for the purpose of illustrating the invention, although it will be understood that many changes and modifications can be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims;

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The combination with a safe door and a main locking mechanism thereon, of an auxiliary lock including a gravity operated swinging locking member, a locking detent normally holding the locking member in inoperative position, and a member extend ing across the main locking mechanism and connected at one end to said detent, said member being operable incident to displacement of the main locking mechanism to move the detent out of engagement with the locking member to release the latter.

2. The combination with a safe door which is provided with a conventional bolt device and a main lock controlling the same. of an auxiliary locking device including a clamp adapted to be secured to the door at various positions, an arm projecting from the clamp, a swinging locking member pivoted upon the arm and movable into and out of cooperative relation with the bolt device. a locking detent normally holding the locking member in inoperative position, and means operable from the main lock to shift the detent, said detent being releasable when the main lock is tampered with and permitting the locking member to swing into operative position.

3. The combination with a safe door formed with a flange and equipped with a bolt device together with a main lock for controlling the same, ofa clamp adaptedto be fitted upon the flange, an extensible" arm carried by the'clamp and formed oftelescoping members which are adjustable for too adapting the device to difie'rent doors, a swinging locking member carried by the arm, a locking detent normally holding the swinging locking member in a raised position, said detent being automatically releasable when the main lock is tampered with and then permitting the locking member to drop by gravity into operative engagement with the bolt device.

4. In auxiliary locking mechanism for safe and vault works, the combination with a safe door having a support upon its inner face for the bolt works, of a lock device comprising a clamp adapted to be connected with the bolt works support at diiierent positions and including a supporting arm extending therefrom, a sectional extension adjustably mounted upon said arm, a looking member swingingly connected to said extension in position to coact with the bolt works, said locking member having a notch therein, a locking detent connected to the extension and normally engaging in the notch to hold the locking member in inoperative position, and an actuating member connected at one end to the detent and extending into cooperation with a displaceable part of the door whereby upon displacement of the latter the detent may be withdrawn from the notch and the locking member swung into position coacting with the bolt works.

5. An auxiliary lock attachment for safe and vault doors comprising a supporting member, clamping means for attaching the device to the door in various positions, extension means carried by said support for adjusting the device to doors of various sizes, a locking member pivotally connected to the end of the extension and having a notch therein and a stop shoulder, a spring locking detent secured to the extension and engageable in the notch for holding the locking member in inoperative position, and an actuating member connected with the detent to withdraw the same from the notch and permit the locking member to fall into operative position, said detent coacting with the stop shoulder to limit the movement of the locking member.

In testimony whereof I afi'ix my signature.

ARTHUR ERNEST ANAKIN. 

